Midnight had come and gone; the stars starting to fade a little bit, the sun racing around the globe, chasing the moon to bring another day. Each second that went by, meant the war was ticking closer and the point of no return was looming like a dark cloud, threatening to rain, and sure enough, the rain came when the group huddled in the Byers' rickety house separated.

Jim Hopper piled his daughter into his truck with one destination in mind; the hole that was ripping open wider by the minute, buried deep with the basements of Hawkins Laboratory. Since Eleven had opened the Gate, the idea that she could close it seemed like a decent one, unfortunately the labs were guarded with an army, but that was a problem for a latter date. Duncan had gone with them, promising Marigold he would not be a hero, only a shoulder to lean on if Eleven needed a power boost. The pair were strangely connected; Rainbow Room buddies from a life that was blurred at the edges. Duncan liked her, maybe the first person he could find himself relating to in a world that was so odd to him.

Joyce Byers had carried her family on her tiny shoulders, all the way to Jim's hideaway cabin, deep within the woods where nobody, not even the Mind Flayer could reach, since Will had never been there, he could not pinpoint his location. Nancy had followed suit, now a part of the family, in a strange way. As she hurried down the rocky driveway, she pulled Dottie Fields with her, whispering that Will liked her best, which could help with trying to burn the Mind Flayer from his mind. Dottie had promised Daisy, that she would be no hero, and the girls shared a secret smile about Nancy wanting Dottie to join her.

Steve Harrington, now a pretty decent babysitter, stayed behind with the children, and the Lonsdale sisters, who were bruised and exhausted. Filling the horrible silence, they attempted to clean the mess; the glass and the paper tunnels that circled around the entire house. Marigold, almost too hopeful, was glad her night of strange activities had come to an end, even if they were technically benched from the action. They would not be heroes tonight.

Apparently, Marigold was the only one quite happy to be sitting this one out.

Mike Wheeler complained loudly, watching as Steve and Dustin struggled to shove the dead Demodog into Joyce's fridge for scientific purposes. Mike had been pacing for a long while. Marigold watched him, lounged in a dining chair, her leg extended as Daisy examined her wounded ankle, which had started bleeding again. Marigold had downed more painkillers like warm beer on a summer afternoon. "Hopper knows what he's doing," Marigold called out over her shoulder, mind a little frayed at the edges. She liked that. "Give him some credit."

Daisy snickered softly, tying a new bandage around Marigold's ankle. "Give him some credit? He didn't find you when you went missing. Some chief of police."

"That's because I wasn't missing," Marigold elaborated cooly. "So, of course, he couldn't find me."

Mike ignored them. "Did I mention the part where there are hundreds of those things in the labs now?" he jeered back at them, shaking his head. "They're walking into an ambush."

Steve, a little irritated by the argument that had been going back and forth now for nearly twenty minutes, turned from his handiwork, tossing a dirty tea towel over his shoulder. "Listen, dude, a coach calls a play in a game, bottom line, you execute it. Got it?"

"Okay, first of all, this isn't some stupid sports game," Mike rebutted. "And second, we're not even in the game. We're on the bench."

Marigold raised a hand proudly. "And some of us, are quite happy to be here."

Steve stammered a bit. "Right, so my point is..." His eyes drifted down to Daisy, who simply shrugged her shoulders at him. Everyone stared at Steve waiting. "Right, yeah, we're on the bench, so uh, there's nothing we can do."

"Well, that's not entirely true." Dustin added, mind blinking with a new idea.

At that point, that was the point of no return for the children left behind at the Byers' house. Their minds weaved together, following Mike around the house and pointing at the tunnels Will had drawn so carefully. Daisy followed behind them, listening carefully to their idea of drawing away the Demodogs, to clear a path for Eleven to somehow, close the Gate. She had to admit, these kids were very clever, if not self-destructive.

"Hey, hey!" Steve yelled out, getting their attentions. "We're not doing this."

Marigold, safely seated at the dining table agreed with him. She had gotten her hands on a bag of marshmallows somehow and was stuffing them into her mouth. "That's a stupid idea!" Her voice was singsongy, the painkillers finally making her mind a little too cloudy.

Mike stared at him. "But—"

"No, no, no, no," Steve shook his head, hair falling into eyes a little bit. His hairspray was apparently wearing off from the long night. "Not buts. I promised I would keep you shitheads safe, and that's exactly what I plan to do. We're staying here, on the bench. And we're waiting for the starting team to do their job."

Daisy leaned her shoulder against the doorframe of the kitchen, her lips suppressing a smile. Steve Harrington, once King of Hawkins High was waving around a stupid tea towel and playing mother to a bunch of children that were being bratty. This was a moment she would remember forever. When Mike opened his mouth to argue again, a laugh escaped her lips. Marigold was giggling into her cupped hands from the kitchen too.

"Goldilocks, keep your mouth shut, before I come over there and—" Steve started, voice clipped as he glared back at the children in the corridor, each rolling their eyes and sitting into their hips like rebellious teenagers. 

Daisy smirked at him, a challenge in her eyes. "And what?"

Steve pointed one finger at the children, begging them to stay put, then stalked towards Daisy, who pushed herself up straight. She had washed away the blood, but the deep gash on her cheek was a violent reminder that she was broken. "I will have to shut you up, too," he replied, standing too close.

It was a foolish mistake, her judgement call walking a fine line. Daisy lifted one eyebrow, her arms crossed tightly across her chest. "How you gonna' do that?"

Very, very dangerous thoughts filled Steve Harrington's little mind. "Daisy." His one word was not just one word; it was an entire flood of words that meant far more than anybody, not even Marigold, could guess at. A relationship of unsaid words that had gone hand in hand for far too long. It was a screaming silence of longing looks, flirty jokes and hand holding. It was the battle cry for something neither Steve, or Daisy, thought they could ever have.

Daisy tilted her head to the side, letting the moment pass. "They've got a point," Her voice was incredibly low, in order for the kids not to hear that she agreed with them. "What if Nancy was stuck in those labs with all those monsters? Wouldn't you do anything to help keep her alive?"

Another wordless beat passed between them. Daisy shifted away from him, always worried she would cross some invisible line in their friendship. Steve, on the other hand, was ready to venture into the choppy waters that had always separated them. He inched forward, a hand reaching for the loop in her jeans, wanting to pull her close. "I'd do it for you." His words left Daisy's stomach twisting strangely, her eyes defying herself and dropping to his lips for a second.

From the kitchen, Marigold's voice broke the tension, high-pitched again. "They broke up!" She broke into a fit of giggles and clapped her hands together. "Steve and Nancy are so over!"

Steve opened his mouth, not even sure what words would follow, but a sound settled into the nighttime from outside and sliced through their moment. A heavy beat from some popular rock song that Marigold had heard too many times now. Daisy snapped her head towards the front door, where everyone could hear a car's engine revving in the distance. Max Mayfield, perched on her knees on the couch stared through the curtains.

"It's Billy," she said, her eyes panicked. "He can't know I'm here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us."

Everyone moved towards the windows to watch as Billy Hargrove cut the engine, then the headlights and stepped onto the rocks, his boots crushed with each step he took towards the house. Marigold, still foggy from her painkillers, which proved a lot more effective than anyone assumed, loomed over Daisy's shoulder. Steve squared his shoulders and handed Daisy his tea towel, before edging open the front door and joining the California boy in the cool air.

"You know him a little bit," Daisy whispered across at Marigold. "How does this play out?"

Marigold swayed on her feet, but her delicate eyes watched Billy like a hawk. She could feel his hot skin under her fingertips without even being beside him. A shiver ran done her spin. "I don't know him that well," she replied. "He's a great kisser, you know? Plus, what he can do with his tongue—"

Daisy scrunched up her nose. "Ew, too much information."

Marigold just shrugged. "A girl has needs, okay? No need to feel ashamed about it." Her gaze jolted away from the boys in the darkness. "Plus, he's got a great arse."

"He wears his jeans way too tight," Daisy said, which resulted in Marigold giggling again. Daisy backed away from the windows, where the children watched with curious eyes. Her hand wrapped around her sister's elbow, steadying her upright. "Are you okay? I think we should get you home soon. Maybe sleep everything off."

In that split second, not watching the chaos outside, the sisters missed Billy push Steve against the pavement and storm towards the house. Dustin, Mike, Lucas and Max hurried away from the windows, back towards the kitchen, but didn't get the chance to hide properly, because with a loud thump, the front door swung open and crashing inside was the newly crowned King of Hawkins High. Daisy stepped away from her sister, edging towards the children. She had been in her fair share of fist fights and this boy did not scare her.

His eyes swooped over the children, landing on Marigold, who held herself up right by clinging to the doorframe. "I told you to stay away," Billy glared down at Max, who shuffled backwards. "You disobeyed me."

Max shook her head. "Go away, Billy."

Billy laughed, a strange humourless laugh. His gaze rounded the room again, finally landing on Marigold and he offered he a flash of teeth. "Hey, Baby," His words were laced in a hungry fuel that he needed to burn with girls that thought danger was fun. Quickly, his eyes were back on his step-sister, rage leaking from his limbs. "You know what happens when you disobey me. I break things." His hands yanked for Lucas Sinclair, shoving the boy backwards.

Daisy, along with Lucas's friends madly dashed after him. Screaming sounded through the tiny house, bouncing off the walls and through the floorboards. Words blended into the screaming, Daisy trying to wiggle through the kids, but Dustin was annoying in the way, throwing his arms around like that was supposed to solve anything and she was stuck behind him. Thankfully, Lucas was braver than he looked, and shoved a knee into Billy's groin, and he doubled over, giving Lucas a chance to slip from his tight embrace. Billy roared. "You are so dead, Sinclair!"

Marigold, sorbed up a little bit, pushed herself in-between Billy and the children. Her curls were flat, her face clean from any makeup, but she held her ground. She was the dangerous one, not Billy Hargrove. "Firstly, I'm not your baby," Marigold pushed against his chest. He barely moved though, simply just smirked across at her. "Secondly, you need to leave, before I personally rip out your balls and feed them to you."

"I like it when you play dirty." Billy jolted.

Marigold shoved him backwards again, which only shifted her balance, and her body swayed towards the kitchen table, where she steadied herself. Billy watched, a flicker of concern reaching his fire filled eyes. "Shut up," Marigold sneered.

Billy moved towards her slowly, but a fist was suddenly slammed against Billy's jawline, somebody swinging from the side. Steve Harrington swore with the impact, shaking out his hand. Cruel laughter filtered through the kitchen and the stink of testosterone floated about. Daisy flocked to her sister's side, dragging her away from the boys.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I've been wanting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about." Billy howled, enjoying the blood and the violence and all the colours that bled into his heart. A kid born and raised in violence.

Daisy ushered the children away from the boys too, panic in her bloodstream. Marigold pushed herself to the wall again, her head feeling woozy again and her ankle sending shooting pain up her leg. Screaming, hoots of encourage and grunts echoed throughout the Byers' house as the true fight broke out, king against king.

When Billy, face covered in blood, slammed a dinner plate over Steve's head, Daisy screamed blood murder. Dustin, chanting turned to horror, gasped. "Holy shit."

The fight ended in the living room, Billy tossing Steve against the floorboards where he stayed down. Marigold saw the horror in Daisy's eyes, as Billy slammed punch after punch onto Steve's pretty boy face. Daisy moved again, thoughts pushed aside, boots slipping on the broken glass and blood that dotted the floor from the kitchen. Her fists banged against Billy's back, but he either didn't feel her, or did not care, only continued to beat the shit out of Steve Harrington.

"You're going to kill him," Daisy screamed. "Stop it, you fucking, asshole!"

Marigold lugged forward, ankle twisting awkwardly, her hands twisting around her sister's waist and pulling her backwards, their bodies falling miserably against the floorboards. Tears, she had not realised had fallen, stained Daisy's cheeks and she hurried to get back to her feet with a wail of a cry, her lips only calling out one name.

In the middle of the chaos, Max Mayfield, head twisted on right, found the needle, full to the brim, of the sedative Joyce Byers had stolen from the labs to knock Will out and keep the Mind Flayer away. She did not have to think twice, only raced to stab the needle into Billy's neck and watched his eyes drop down within seconds. As she hovered over her brother, Steve's bat in hand, Daisy scurried to Steve's side, her fingertips smooth away the hair that was coated in blood from his forehead. Steve was barely conscious.

"Steve? Hey, it's me. Can you hear me?"

He groaned, his turned to the side. "You like bad boys, right?"

Daisy smiled through her tears. "Only ones that don't plant their feet, you idiot."

Behind her, Max was reaching into her brother's pocket and yanking free his car keys. She turned to everyone, swinging the keychain in her fingertips. "Are we ready to leave?" Her eyes snatched back down to Steve, who was barely able to process a real thought correctly. "We should probably take the babysitter with us, right?"

Marigold, still sitting on the floorboards puffed out her cheeks. "I'll be the designated driver, who doesn't drive and stays behind." She eyed Billy beside her. "Somebody should stay here incase he wakes up, or you know, Hopper calls or something. Daisy should drive."

Daisy shook her head. "I can't drive."

Marigold frowned. "What? Why didn't mum teach you?"

"Because she was always worried that if I learned, I'd steal her car and run away to find you, or something." Daisy confessed quietly. "Or maybe that I would buy a station wagon and lose my virginity it in. You know mum, she's always been hyper protective."

Marigold sniffled out a laugh. "It's a rite of passage, the virginity thing, not the running away thing." Her eyes grew huge with her words and she stared back up at the children. "I mean, don't have sex kids, and especially not in cars. It's totally unsafe."

Max simply rolled her eyes and swung the keys back and forth. "I'll drive." She motioned to the doorway, where the others were already hurrying towards, needing a desperate reason to bail on a safe sex lesson from Marigold Lonsdale. "We promise no sex in the car, don't worry."

"Good," Marigold dropped her shoulders back to the floorboards and stared at the coloured tunnels that ran all over the roof. She just wanted to stay there forever. "That's good."